Every Monday I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words. If you’d like to participate, click here for details.
Today, I’m pleased to feature Minimalist Rose, who shares with us the influences and inspiration behind her minimalist lifestyle.
Minimal Rose writes:
At 17, I spent a month staying with a family in France. I was blown away by how few clothing items they wore, that they did not own a dryer, and by the simplicity & history of many of the homes that I had the opportunity to visit. I should mention that I was raised by packrats on the Pacific coast, and am the only one out of our family of four that appreciates a minimalistic approach to life!
My awareness of minimalism blossomed during my time living in New York City. I move there around age 22, and stayed 4 years. Living in a 10×10 room or smaller with questionable closet space moved me in the direction of less quickly (in addition to having to watch my pennies VERY carefully). During this period of my life I worked in the fashion jewelry business… first in wholesale design & then later took a retail position for a company that marketed higher end fashion jewelry.
During this period I began searching for further simplicity in my dress and living space. I needed a Zen place to rest my head, and I needed a wardrobe that I could wear crawling around the floor digging through piles of jewelry samples & still wear later that evening to go for drinks at a Wall Street worthy bar with my significant other… I quickly adopted black as an easy solution to accommodate limited closet space & versatility in venues.
At 26 I left NYC. Culture shock! I moved into one of those new housing developments initially (to be with family), and adjusted to the culture of shopping at Costco & Target rather than running to the corner bodega or Duane Reade. Suddenly surrounded by stifling super stores and one stop shops of overwhelming proportions I quickly attempted to fulfill most of my needs online and avoid the feeling of overwhelm when making my purchases.
Fast-forward a few years… I’ll be 29 in less than a month. I have just completed graduate course work, and will be moving soon. I’m finally reaching a place in my life where I want the grounded stability of a less transient home. These past few years I have been using furniture that people who knew me had given out of concern for my simplicity…although I was perfectly content to sit on the floor, as were most of my guests under the age of 37, despite all of the furniture. As I prepare to move, the vision I have of my new home is one of a beautiful beach cottage… stark & peaceful. Armed with Wabi-Sabi concepts and a desire for natural beauty, I intend to shed the furniture items given to me that don’t make me happy… And to not worry about the empty spaces that this will create.
In the past year I have dived into the sea of online communities discussing minimal/no waste, and the intricacies of minimalism. I have loved every second of this exploration! It is so inherently me! It fills me with joy to know that there are others out there and that it can be done with style & good sense. It also reminds me so much of my cherished step-grandmother and how she has run her household for years, maintaining style through intelligence, creativity, & economy…although she doesn’t quite fall in the category of minimalist.
I have relished discovering the small businesses & farmer’s markets that I have frequented these past few years…although there will be more to discover in my new location. I still experience culture shock when making a trip through Wal-Mart or the local mall…and it always makes me wonder: how on earth was I working in the fashion industry? I love beauty, but I find these days that I’m drawn more to the variety found within a loving community or out in nature. These are the things I hold onto now.
{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider reading my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
I hope you start blogging, Minimal Rose! I’d enjoy seeing more of your journey, and you write beautifully!
Did you end up changing your career too or did you find a way to make the fashion industry work for you?
I changed careers! I’m now working in healthcare. I continue to be very satisfied with my choice to leave fashion.
Lovely!!! I know you will find your beach cottage bliss!!!
Great post! I cringe when I see those big-box stores filled with nothing original or stylist, and am proud to say I’ve only been in a Wal-Mart once (hate their politics and how they treat their employees plus everything made in China by children!) when I was vacationing in Vermont with a friend who had forgotten her bathing suit and insisted on going to Wal-Mart. You are fortunate to have figured this out so young. My next change will be at retirement when I move to the pacific coast where I too plan on decorating my small condo like a blissful and very Zen beach cottage. Best of luck!
What a sweet way to describe your grandma, who ran her househokd with “intelligence, creativity, and economy”! I’m excited to think through these words today.
I’m glad you’re shedding the furniture that you doesn’t make you happy. So often we keep things around because they are still usable, but they no longer fit who we are. Best wishes on your new life.
This is a really lovely series. Any chance to get a sneak peek of looking into some minimalist homes? :) My favorite thing about minimalism is minimalistic homedesign and I keep on looking for inspiration in how the real life minimalists live and what great ideas they implemented in their homes.
Btw I love it how when you get rid of some stuff, you actually find some wardrobes or chests of drawers unnecesary and you can get rid of them, too! Even the smallest appartments get way more space and air in them when you take out some unnecesary furniture.
This was a lovely journey. I felt so much at peace reading it. I wish you well on your next chapter and all those that follow.
Thank you for sharing! I, too, hope you start blogging. ;-) You’re at such an exciting age–everyone I know, who has made some monumental life-changing decision (myself included!) did it in their 30’s. I would love to follow your journey!
A wonderful text and a very interesting journey. As a European I’m always interested in the differences in our cultural habits. Personally, I don’t know anyone, who owns a dryer or thinks about buying one. :)
I thought I would share my blog with those who are interested. Warnings in advance, this has been a half hearted attempt over the years with many moments of being overcome with shyness etc. So there is little to show. I started it yet again this summer, only to make it private very quickly.
The most meaningful things in life always seem to leave us the most exposed.
Please be kind :)
http://minimalrose.blogspot.com/
OMG, I can’t believe I found this wonderful blog. I’ve always wanted to be minimalist so that I could travel but I have such a hard time letting go of any of my stuff. I will either be moving to hawaii or alaska soon though, and it will be ideal for starting from scratch. I haven’t been through your whole blog yet, but I will.
I was wondering if you would write a blog about birthdays/christmas/ect. I have a ton of family, what do I do when they give me stuff that means something to them? What do I tell them that I want? (money/cash as gifts is really taboo in my family) If you’ve already written one, than thank you and I’ll find it eventually.
Thanks, Tiffany Larsen.
p.s. just out of curiosity, how would you handle being a minimalist if you had a baby?
I really like your comment on local farmers markets. They are such a great way to support people in your area as well as to eat seasonally. We belong to a program where we receive monthly boxes of fresh vegetables and herbs according to what’s available and it’s wonderful. Thank you for bringing up this amazing way to eat fresh.
I can truly say I am glad I have not accumulated a lot of possessions in my life. Years ago, I thought about getting a storage freezer and my husband said every power failure would be a nightmare. Both my folks and my in-laws had them as well as big supplies and closets full of everything. I usually keep a 2 week supply of most things and a month’s supply of others. We’ve always had food in the house and plenty of cleaning supplies and toiletries. We always used the back of junk mail for scratch paper and playing word games. I’ve even used newspaper or paper bags to make patterns for costumes.
I rarely buy anything new. Occasionally, I bring home a magazine or a book from the library that I’d like to look through. I still have plenty to get rid of even though I’ m still clearing out a bag or two every week.
In the past week, I’ve glued and glittered for a community art project, made a hundred sugar skulls to be decorated for day of the dead and worked with children making banners of cut tissue paper for another day of the dead project. This weekend we are hosting a birthday party for 15 people. My life is busy, happy and full. I couldn’t have all these activities going on if I had to clean a cluttered house, too. Oh, and I had my grandchildren over for an evening of puzzles and art projects, too.
I keep watching shows about tiny houses. I follow this blog and look at Apartment Therapy. I know there are people looking to live with less. I am not seeing any of this around me. There are huge homes and even huge retirement spaces. I am vigilant about what comes in and enthusiastic about what goes out.